Follow Me Out of the Dark
by lamusica512
Summary: Two lovers, worlds apart, are reunited after 10 years with each other and the rest of the Cullen family. But as a battle approaches, fear grips the entire family. Can their love withstand or will it be too late?
1. 1 Another Lonely Day

**Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight! That belongs to the lovely Stephanie Meyer...Also the lyrics in this chapter are from "I'll Stay" by Augustana...Enjoy!**

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_Love is such a cruel game  
And it won't let you ever be the same  
Until you come down. Dream me down  
And how does it feel, feeling down?  
You're wasting your breath, just say the word  
And I'll stay_

_Oh yeah  
I said love's such a cruel game  
And it won't let you ever be the same  
And it won't let you just run away  
__Until you come down dream me down  
__Just turn around  
__Just say the word  
__Honey, no, say the word  
__Darling, no, just say the word  
__And I'll stay  
__I'll stay  
__I'll stay._

You could hardly hear her strum the last note over the roar of the crowd, but to her it didn't matter. The escape of the song lingered for a second longer. Finally, she pulled herself out and focused on the task at hand.

"Thank you!" she shouted to the screaming crowd, before blowing a kiss and making her exit.

"Nice jobs" and "Great shows" greeted her as she gracefully made her way backstage. She politely thanked and congratulated her band as always before closing the dressing room door, bypassing the beautiful arrangement of cheeses and fruits, and plopping down in her chair in front of the vanity. She stared at her reflection. Her long, wavy, brown hair was still perfectly in place and not a drop of sweat was on her, despite the fact that she just played a twenty-song set. Her amber eyes watched as her abnormally pale skin sparkled slightly from the lights around the mirror.

If she could cry she probably would. It was her own fault. That damn song got her every time she sang it. _Just say the word_. It was the conversation that they had had the night before she left. In the end he didn't say it and she had packed her bags and headed for New York City. But that was 10 years ago and dwelling on the past was just unhealthy. Especially if, like her, you had 50 years of memories to dwell over.

She reached for her water bottle, opened the lid and smelled the irony smell that protruded from the top. Grateful that she had remembered to save some after her last hunt, she downed the rest of the blood from the bottle and went to clean it out in the sink.

Suddenly she could smell a scent that was much more pleasing than the deer's blood she'd just consumed.

The stage manager knocked twice and opened the door.

"They're calling for an encore, Layla," he said before softly closing the door and leaving as quickly as he'd come.

Glancing once more at her reflection, she sighed muttering, "Then let's give it to them," before grabbing her guitar and heading back to the screaming crowd.


	2. 2 Back in Your Head

**Disclaimer: Don't own it (besides Layla and Tristan)! That Steph Meyer is one creative chick**

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Tristan sat on the park bench outside the library waiting for his prey to make her exit. He had picked her out earlier that day in the coffee shop down the street where he usually hunted. She met all the criteria that made her the perfect next victim: she was beautiful and she was alone. No friends had accompanied her to the coffee shop that morning or back to her one bedroom apartment later that day, and she was once again about to stroll out of the library completely alone and vulnerable to his attack.

Her smell had wafted toward him in the coffee shop that morning: delicious over all the varied coffee aromas. How humans could drink that disgusting shit was beyond him. It smelled like burnt dirt. She, on the other hand, smelled mouth-watering and at the time it was all he could do to stop himself from pouncing and having her right then and there, for surely that taste would be even more heavenly than the beautiful smell that accompanied it. But he had refrained, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Finally that moment arrived. The library doors opened and the beautiful girl emerged, her long blonde hair dancing in the wind. As the cold air outside hit her, she clutched her long black coat and bag of books closer to her body and headed down the street toward her apartment.

Tristan got up quickly from his bench and followed a couple yards behind her. Another gust of wind came, blowing her hair back and once again wafting her scent back toward him. Feeling reckless, he lengthened his strides and easily closed the gap between them.

Sensing his presence, she glanced back. When she saw Tristan behind her, she gave a shy smile and turned back around. That was always the most amusing part of the hunt: how they always thought they were safe just because it was some attractive, clean-cut guy behind them. They weren't even slightly suspicious when they saw his blue v-neck sweater, black jacket, and jeans. Sometimes they were even hopeful that such a good-looking guy was walking so close to them. His pale skin, dark hair, and oddly colored eyes (he always made sure to cover the red with blue contacts when he went out to hunt) always made them feel excitement rather than the deep terror that they should be feeling when their death was so near.

She slowed down her pace slightly, probably hoping that he would come to walk next to her. Instead he slowed down along with her. He didn't like talking to his victims before he killed them and walking beside her meant that she could start conversation.

A block ahead he could see the dark alley way that she would turn down to head to her apartment building. It was the perfect place for an attack; a little cliché for his liking but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

Ready to make his next move, he again closed the space between himself and his victim. He could feel the rush that always accompanied the hunt flow through him. The scent of her blood wafted towards him again and he could hardly wait to take the first taste.

But suddenly he heard something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

"And up next we have the hit single from newcomer, Layla Robbins. Here's 'Love me Like the World is Ending.'" It was coming out of the large speakers outside the music store he had just past. Following the announcement came the familiar arrangement of guitar chords that he had heard so many times before.

_This is the first day of the future_  
_And all I want is you_  
_I wear a pair of socks you left here_  
_And I know I know I know nobody could ever fill your shoes_  
_I can see so clearly when the smoke gets in my eyes_  
_Please me with your promises and hurt me with your lies_  
_Baby can you hear the message I am sending?_  
_Love me like the world is ending..._

Her proverbial voice hit him like a load of bricks and he couldn't do anything but stand and listen to the song that she had written him all those years ago. Nothing could stop the flood of memories that bombarded him.

_Layla, sitting on his bed, wearing his shirt, surrounded by papers filled with musical notes and guitar tabs. Her dark brown hair falling in her face as she reached over to make a quick change. Her dazzling smile when she saw him standing in the doorway. Her laugh as he pulled the guitar out of her hands and tackled her backwards onto the bed. _

"_What's the song called?" he asked her between kisses._

"_Haven't named it yet" she laughed._

"_What's it about?" he asked before trailing his kisses down her neck to her collar bone._

"_You…us," she said with a sigh, "Aren't they all?"_

_He halted his kisses, smirking in to her neck before reaching his head back up to look deep into her amber eyes._

"_You're amazing" he breathed._

"_You're not so bad yourself," she said before placing a finger under his chin and pulling his lips up to meet hers. _

As the song came to a close, Tristan pulled himself away from the memories and remembered where he was. He quickly looked around for his prey but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit!" he grumbled, running a frustrated hand through his hair. Though he probably could have easily found her again, the song and subsequent blast from the past had robbed him of his motivation.

As if on cue his cell phone rang. Glancing at the name on the screen, he growled and flipped it open.

"Alice." He said curtly

"Oh Tristan, another failed hunt?" the musical voice on the other end answered.

"Do I even have to answer that question? I'm sure you know the answer," he replied, kicking the trash can beside him.

"Yes well that's why I figured it was as good of time to call as any. You know you could just call her," said Alice.

"Stay out of it Alice. What do you want?" he snarled.

"Oh calm down. I'm just calling to remind you that Carlisle's birthday is this weekend and the rest of the family was really hoping that you could make a trip to Forks for the celebration. "

"You make it sound like I have a choice in the matter." Alice's melodic laugh flowed through the line.

"Good point. So I'll see you Friday then?" she said, her excitement obvious in her tone.

"Guess you will."

"Yayyyy! It will be great. The party preparations are already underway and you'll finally get to meet Bella and Renesmee! They're so excited to see you, as is the rest of the family. Well I have to go. Love you! Better luck next time with that hunt."

"Yeah love you too. Oh and Alice?" Tristan said with a slight hesitation.

"Yes?" she replied. He could hear the smug smile in her voice as she predicted what he was going to ask.

"Will Layla be there?" he said, hating the slight quiver in his voice that always came when he spoke her name out loud.

After a slight pause that seemed to last five minutes, Alice said a quick, "Yes she will" before quickly hanging up the phone before he could protest.

He snapped the phone shut with a little too much force, sat down on the curb, and covered his face with this hands. _Well this should be an interesting weekend…_

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Hope you enjoyed chapter dos!! Layla's lyrics were from "Love Me Like the World is Ending" by Ben Lee. please rate and review!


	3. 3 Meet Me Halfway

As always...I don't own Twilight...only Tristan and Layla! Enjoy and please please please rate and review!

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"Play it again, Daddy," Renesmee pleaded. She and Bella were cuddling on the couch in the living room of their small cottage, listening to Edward play Bella's lullaby for the third time that night.

"Stop trying to get out of going to bed on time, Ness. It's already 9:30 and you may be nine on the inside but you're still only three years old," said Edward, standing up from the piano seat and reaching out his hand for his devious daughter.

"That doesn't even make sense and you know it, Dad," Renesmee said, rolling her eyes. Edward looked at Bella with an exasperated expression and it was all she could do to stop from laughing.

"Listen to your father Renesmee. He will play it again tomorrow when we go back to Grandma and Grandpa's house," Bella said in the best authoritative tone she could muster at the moment.

"Ughh. Fine." Renesmee jumped off the couch and gave Bella a quick kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight Mom," she said before grabbing Edward's outstretched hand and following him to her bedroom. "Goodnight sweetheart," Bella called after her.

"Pretty soon we are going to have a full blown teenager on our hands," Edward laughed when he returned from tucking Renesmee into bed a few minutes later. He looked at Bella, still nestled into the couch and sat next to her, pulling her into his lap.

"Hmmm I hope not," she replied before wrapping her arms around Edward's neck and kissing him passionately. "Tell me the story again."

Edward laughed, "You're just like her you know. Play it again, do it again, tell me again. So demanding of my attention." He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and stole a few more kisses before breathing, "Not that I would have it any other way."

"That's what I thought," Bella giggled, "But seriously. Explain to me again how two vampires could leave behind this wonderful family that I have inherited and not see them for ten years! It makes no sense! How could I have been so ridiculously happy and not even know that I have another brother and sister-in-law that I've never met."

Edward halted his kisses and sighed, knowing that he was never going to win this battle. "Fine I'll tell you again…

"About 50 years ago, when it was still just me, Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie, Carlisle was working in a hospital in Vancouver. He was a different kind of doctor back then. He worked mostly with abused children—both treating their more serious injuries and providing them with emotional comfort. He paid special attention to one long-term case with this teenager. His dad, who had a serious problem with alcohol, abused him pretty heavily. After his fourth or fifth trip to the hospital, another doctor noticed a pattern and brought the case to Carlisle, who did everything he could to try to have Tristan removed from the house. Unfortunately, at that time, those problems weren't dealt with as efficiently as they are today. Carlisle helped the kid every time he came to the hospital for a different injury and eventually Carlisle built a connection with him. Once you meet Tristan you'll see that this is no easy feat. He has a pretty rough exterior. Anyways, one day, when he was nineteen, Tristan came to the hospital in an ambulance after another really terrible beating from his father. He had a lot of internal bleeding and there wasn't much the doctors could do for him. When it came down to it, Carlisle had to choose between allowing him to die or changing him, and in the end he bit him and brought him back to live with the family.

"Unfortunately, Tristan had a really hard time adjusting to the 'vegetarian' lifestyle for a vampire. He found it even harder than Jasper, and unlike Jasper, he didn't have a mate like Alice convincing him to keep at it. He cheated a lot. I don't think his heart was really in it. Carlisle repeatedly tried to get through to him, but Tristan is naturally rebellious. We had almost completely given up hope until this one day. Tristan had been away hunting in Montreal. He came home, drenched to the bone, carrying this human girl in his arms. She was covered in blood and barely breathing. He begged Carlisle to change her, saying that he was sure she had no family or friends that would miss her. Carlisle obliged but said that it might already be too late for the venom to heal her wounds. Tristan sat at her bedside throughout the entire transformation. He sobbed, silently and tearlessly, as she writhed in pain, but wouldn't move from his watchful position for anything. Finally, Layla was fully transformed. She fit into the vampire lifestyle almost as well as you did. Especially the vegetarian aspect of it. She helped Tristan with it as well. The two of them were inseparable and, although they had their moments, they were madly in love with each other.

"Aaaand that's how we got two more members of the Cullen family," Edward finished, somewhat anti-climactically and without meet Bella's curious gaze.

"What?! You're not done yet. If they were so madly in love why aren't they together anymore? Why don't they live with the rest of the family? How did Layla get so badly hurt and if Tristan wasn't really a vegetarian why did he save her in the first place? And why did Tristan have such a hard time with the vegetarian lifestyle anway? You've barely told me anything!" Bella exclaimed.

"Those answers, my love, are for a different time and I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you. It is an exhilarating tale and I don't think I can do it justice," Edward said before tackling Bella back onto the couch and giving a swift kiss to her cheek.

"But I want to know—" Edward interrupted Bella's protest by placing a tender kiss on her lips. It was the kind of kiss that would make her heart race if it still beat. Her breathing quickened and she could barely remember her own name. "Unfair," she breathed as his kisses moved back down her neck to her collar bone.

Edward chuckled. "I promise you will learn the rest of the story in due time. But now, we have eight hours before Renesmee will wake up and I intend to make full use of that time," he said before picking Bella up off the couch and into his arms.

"And you say I demand a lot of attention," Bella laughed as Edward carried her towards the bedroom.


	4. 4 I'm With You

**50 years ago…**

_This is a really bad idea_, thought Tristan, watching his step-sister, Alice skip to the car.

"Don't worry about it man. If Alice says you'll be fine, you will be," Edward said, clapping Tristan on the back as he walked past him on the way to the car.

_God that still creeps me out. Why can't he just stay out of my damn head?_

Edward turned back to give him an apologetic look before jumping in the car behind Alice. Tristan's new family had recently convinced him that the best way to maintain a vegetarian lifestyle is to practice. Edward and Alice were taking him for a trial run on the streets of Vancouver. The rest of the family had agreed that they were the best accomplices for this kind of thing, considering Alice could predict if or when he might slip up and Edward would be fast enough to catch him if he started rampaging through the venue.

Alice turned to him with a knowing smile. "Come on Tris. Lighten up! I've heard this band is amazing. I have a feeling you are going to like it a lot more than you think."

"Oh you do, do you? Well I guess I no longer have any choice about whether or not this will be enjoyable," Tristan replied with a scowl before turning to watch the rain pour outside the car.

What Tristan didn't tell the other two is that he was more than a little nervous for this excursion. These past two years were the longest he had gone without drinking human blood since his time as a vampire and as much as he didn't care if another human life was ended if he did slip up, he didn't think he could stomach another one of Carlisle's "understanding" and yet disappointed looks if he did happen to think one girl in the crowd smelled just a little too tasty.

You see, Tristan loved being a vampire. Everything about it. Even the worst parts like the constant thirst for blood and the need to end human life in order to be fully satisfied. While he respected the rest of the Cullen family's choice to attempt to overcome this, Tristan didn't see the point. Life as a human is pointless. Not only are humans insanely vulnerable to anything and everything, but they are positively miserable. Who cares if Tristan got a little overcome and there was one less lonely and depressed person in the world? Their time on earth was an insignificant sliver on the expansive timeline of existence.

After his transformation, Tristan had attained a power very similar to Jasper's, but in reverse. While Jasper could control the emotions of everyone around him, Tristan had an innate ability to completely shut off his own emotions. While Carlisle attributed this "skill" to the horrors of his past life, Tristan knew that it was simply a defense mechanism that everyone should have if they hoped to survive. It certainly made his life easier when the Cullen's tried to guilt trip him into not killing anymore.

_Like that's ever gonna happen…_

The car ride to Vancouver was long and silent. Edward and Alice had perfected the art of having conversations in each other's heads—one listening to the other's thoughts and one predicting what the other's responses would be. Tristan knew Alice was focusing on his future reaction to the hundreds of humans that were bound to be at this concert. He didn't understand why she bothered—obviously if he were to accidentally slip up, he wouldn't have already made the decision to do it. Besides, Tristan wasn't a newborn. He could, for the most part, exercise self control when he cared to.

The tires squealed as the trio finally pulled into the parking lot of the venue. As he got out of the car, Tristan sized up the long line of girls waiting to buy their tickets. Besides the number of pretty girls in the crowd and the aroma that their excited heartbeats were pumping his way, no one struck his interest.

_This is going to be easier than I thought… _

Edward and Tristan hung back as Alice danced right up to the large bouncer standing outside the doors and stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. Even from their distance they could make out their conversation. Alice knew all the right things to say, not that it mattered. The bouncer was so awestruck by Alice that neither her words nor the wad of cash that she pressed into his hands made much difference. The bouncer still had a slightly dumbstruck expression as he motioned for the three of them to head right inside.

The venue was small and dark. The band had already started playing so the dance floor in front of the small stage was full of people and the smell of weed and alcohol filled the air. Tristan had to hand it to human's, they sure did know how to escape from their pointless lives—drugs and music.

Alice grabbed Tristan's hand tightly and led him further into the venue, Edward tailing closely behind.

"You'll be fine," Alice whispered.

"Yeah I know Alice," Tristan grunted, shaking off her hand when they reached the throngs of people, that anxiously parted upon their approach. Alice, used to Tristan's moods, accepted the rejection of help and turned her attention towards the band.

Tristan, following her lead, gazed up at the band on the stage in front of him. The band was made up of four girls. The spotlight glared down upon the lead singer, who was a beautiful blonde strumming the same chord on her guitar every thirty seconds or so. Bored already, Tristan looked at his watch to see how much longer they would have to stay in order to make the two hour car ride worth it.

When he looked back up, his eyes suddenly locked with a pair of shockingly blue ones. One of the band members, Tristan realized, had been staring at him for the past couple of seconds with a large smirk on her face, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. He had never seen someone so strikingly beautiful, even Rosalie couldn't compare. This girl's long brown wavy hair was so shiny, Tristan desired nothing more than to reach out and twist a lock of it around his finger. Her blue eyes and porcelain skin were bright, even in the shadow that the lead singer cast upon her. Her fingers moved around the guitar strings with expert skill and Tristan realized, with an amused smirk, that she was not only the lead guitarist, but was also singing the melody of the song, while the "lead singer" was passably singing the harmony.

Tristan stared at the girl the rest of the show. He couldn't explain the attraction that he felt as he watched her hands create the increasingly complex melodies. She glanced back at him every once in a while, smiling when she saw he was still watching her.

After the girl strummed her last guitar chord and headed off the stage, Tristan immediately headed for the backstage doors that the beautiful girl disappeared through. Edward jumped to go after him, but Alice pulled him back with a large grin on her face. _He'll be fine…I promise, _she thought.

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Tristan growled and kicked a large trashcan when he finally reached the doors of the venue. Two large bouncers had blocked his way backstage and though he easily could have taken them, he knew Alice and Edward would never let him meet this girl if he killed two people to do it.

Speaking of, Tristan vaguely noted that he had somehow lost the hoity-toity duo in his search for the mysterious beauty, though he noted that they probably knew exactly where he was and were giving him some much needed, if unexpected, space. As Tristan rounded the corner of the venue and began walking down an alleyway between the two neighboring buildings, the back door of the venue, some 50 yards in front of him, swung open. Suddenly, the striking girl he had just been looking for came running out of the door and in Tristan's direction. Not knowing what to do, Tristan leapt into a large crevice in the wall of the building, hiding himself from her view. Half a second later, a tall man came bounding out the door behind her. He forcefully grabbed her arm, and swung her around to face him.

"Let me go!" she shouted.

"You're not going anywhere you ungrateful little bitch," the man sneered at her. From his hiding place, Tristan could smell the strong scent of whiskey and cigarettes. Tristan realized that his hands were shaking with rage at the sight of this man. He tried to take a breath and control it but for some reason, it was harder than ever.

"I'm done! You aren't going to use me or my songs just so Dumbo in there can expand her fan base! Find a new girl to screw over!" The girl spat in the man's face before twisting her arm out of his grip and running down the alley towards Tristan's hiding place.

Before she could get anywhere, the man caught up with her. Before she could scream, before Tristan knew what was happening, he plunged a large knife into her stomach. Tristan didn't think. He shot out from his hiding place and threw him off of the girl. The man flew into the wall behind them and crumpled to the floor. Tristan lifted him up again, just to smash his head into the concrete, crushing his skull.

As the man went limp beneath him, Tristan turned back to where the girl was still standing, staring at him. She then lifted her hand off of her stomach and exposed the dark blood the was flowing profusely from her abdomen. Her knees gave out and Tristan ran to catch her before she hit the ground.

Her blood was overwhelming. Suddenly, it was the only thing Tristan could register. He had never smelt anything so delicious in his life. He bent his head to taste it, but before his tongue reached the river of liquid coming from her, a soft hand reached up to cup his face.

Tristan stopped in his tracks. Forgetting about the blood, he obeyed the pressure of the hand and instinctively turned his face into its palm. He looked into the beautiful eyes that stared up at him. He again found he couldn't look away. Her face was like a magnet.

"Thank you," she whispered from her paling lips. He heard footsteps approach and their inhuman speed alerted him to the presence of Alice and Edward at his side, but when they saw the blood, they immediately jumped back, holding their breath.

"How are you doing that, Tristan?" Alice whispered.

"The wounds are too deep, she'll never make it all the way back to Carlisle," Edward said, reading Tristan's intentions. "If you want her to survive, you have to do it. There's no way I nor Alice will be able to stop."

"You'll be able to stop Tristan," Alice said, and although it shocked all three of them, they all knew she was right. He nodded, still not removing his eyes from this girls face. He heard her heart beat slowing and knew he only had so much time.

Without another thought, Tristan sunk his teeth into her neck.


End file.
